Internal combustion engine



Sept, 13, 1938. H. s. LAMB INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 4 Sheets-Shee t 1 Filed Jan. 22, 1935 I N VEN TOR.

Sept. 13, 1938. H s, LA'MB 2,129,946

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Jan. 22, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V ENTOR.

maswaQv Sept. 13, m

H. S. LAMB INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Jan. 22, 1935 4 Shets-Sheet s INVENTOR. M W [mi Sept. 13, 1938. s LAMB 2,129,946

INTERNAL COMBUSTI ON ENGINE Filed Jan. 22, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1 N VENT OR.

Patented Sept. 13, 1938 UNITED STATES 2.12am INTERNAL ooMBUs'rroN ENGINE Harold Ste r 7 Lamb, South. Gate, Calif.

Application January 22, 1935, Serial No. 2,894

19 Qiaims.

My invention relates to the art of burning a combustible charge in an internal combustion engine of very high compression ratio and has as its special object a means to increase the initial rate of flame propagation during the combustion cycle, thereby completing combustion in fewer degrees of crankshaft movement and giving more time for the expansion of the gases.

To accomplish this I employ a pressure-balancing mechanism which, by virtue of its movement may cause and control the combustion of the fuel charge in said engine. This pressure-balancing or oscillating mechanism is adapted to be moved'by fluid pressures consisting of an explosion at one end of its movement and an adjustable air cushion at the other end of its movement, the motion of the oscillator being under control so that the combustible mixture may be ignited or exploded by the heat of compression caused directly or in- 20 directly by said oscillating mechanism. The ignition temperature obtained thus, makes it possible to ignite the fuel charge without pre-ignition or detonation. The radius and weight of the oscillator together with the air pressure in the air compression cylinder produce the right compression force to ignite the combustible charge under the most favorable conditions The principle of this operation is similar to that of the beam balance for laboratory work. The fuel charge being ignited by the dynamicspeed and precision of the oscillating mechanism is free to expand instantly. From this it will-be seen that the combustion chamber is extremely flexible and may be adjusted to meet special requirements 45 kinetic force, pushing the piston upward against the pressure of the burning combustible charge and reducing the size of the combustion chamber as it moves. This wedge-like action is too rough on some fuels and they rebel by detonating badly.

In my engine a variable air cushion moving with the oscillator and supplemented by spring action, produces a simple, yet positive, control for timing the ignition or compression pressure in the explosion chamber; The dynamic action of the oscillator is entirely spent in compression of the combustible charge, not being limited by the rotation of the crankshaft.

Heretofore, engine designs intended to soften or reduce detrimental explosive pressures have depended on spring loaded devices of various designs which hold the pressure of compression and are intended to release the destructive pressures as they occur, but the trouble is that the detonation pressure rise is too fast for the sluggish mechanical movement of the devices to function. It will be noted that I use springs in my oscillating mechanism but they serve to pull the oscillator away from the explosion chamber and not to hold it there.

The accompanying drawings and description will serve to illustrate two practical uses to which I may choose to put my invention. The first is similar to a true Diesel, the pressure-balancing mechanism serving mainly to hold the maximum cylinder pressure to reasonble limits and reduce the stresses on engine parts. The second engine is of the uniiiow class and makes use of the oscillating mechanism in a diiferent way from the first engine. The difference will be readily understood from the following:--

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal. vertical section through my improved engine viewed with the intake and exhaust side removed.

Fig. 2 is a transverse view of the engine, the cylinder block, crankcase section and included parts being taken on line I-l and the head of the engine showing a section removed on line 2-2 of- Fig. l. The blower and fuel distributing pump are also shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a section through the engine taken on line 33 of Fig. 2 and shows the arrangement of intake and exhaust ports in the cylinder block, there being one intake and two exhaust ports for each cylinder. The pistons 5i. and 53 are shown as being in place for the intake and exhaust cycle. Other pistons in the engine are not shown.

Fig. 4 is a view looking down on the top of the engine as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5.is.a longitudinal view of the pressure balancing lever.

Fig. 6 is a view of the pressure balancing lever taken at right angles to that of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical view of the pressure balancing lever shown in Fig. 5'

Fig. 8 is the left half portion of a vertical crosssection taken through an air compression cylinder of a m ed form of my improved engine.

Fig. 9 is the right half portion of a vertical cross-section taken through the explosion cylinder which with the cylinder of Fig. 8 makes the pair of cylinders I shall refer to later in my claims.

Fig. 10 is a side view of an intake manifold used to conduct the charge compressed in the crankcase of the air cushion cylinder over to the explosion cylinder. This manifold serves alternate pairs of cylinders in a four cylinder engine.

I have shown only two engines using the principles disclosed herewith but I do not wish to be limited to'these only as the cylinders may be ar-: ranged radial type, V. type or.opposed type; also I may choose to make the air-cushioning cylinder smaller or larger than the explosion cylinder and the depth of the air cushion or the compression space between the two pistons may be changed to meet varying requirements.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters I have indicated my improved engine generally at 8 in Fig. 1. As shown, this engine is of the vertical-in-line type and includes a crank case 9 upon which a plurality of pairs of cylinders l0 and I2, II and I3 are mounted. A heavy crankshaft I4 is mounted in bearings l5 which in turn are 'mounted in the crankcase webbing shown at [6. It will be noted that the bearings are provided with pressure lubrication through drilled oil passages Il.

,Secured, by means of studs l3 and nuts I9, to the top of the cylinder block 20 is my pressure balancing or oscillating mechanism shown at 2|; This pressure-balancing or oscillating mechanis includes in detail the following parts:'

The connecting rods 24, 25, 26 and 2'l are hinged to the levers 22 and 23 at 33 by means of pins 32 as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig 4. Pistons 28, 29, 30 and 3| are attached by means of wrist pins 16 to their respective connecting rods and form the crown of the combustion chamber in each'c'ylinder. Soft metal discs 11 serve to prevent scoring of the cylinder walls by the wrist pins 16 as shown in Figs.land2.

Throughout this description I prefer to use" the word oscillator" with reference t6 levers 22,- 23, or 94 and their attached connecting rods-and pistons. Only one type of oscillating or-pressurebalancing mechanism isshown in detail for the purpose of illustration; but I'do not wish 'to'be limited to this design since other designs have been found to be entirely satisfactory, such as the oscillator'used with the type of cylinders shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Two coil springsare used to return each lever to its original horizontal 'po- 'sition after the explosion pressure in the cylinder has forced the pressure-balancing mechanism piston to an extended position. A section through the spring housing cylinder 35in 1; shows the coil spring 34 and piston 36 with wedge-shaped'head 31 being pressed against the rollers-3B. A plug 39 having a breather hole 40 is screwed into the cylinder at 4| to give the proper' adjustment-to the Spring 34. In Fig. 1 the complete spring, piston and cylinder unit has been torn away at'42 in order to show more of the lever assembly. All friction surfaces of the pressure-balancing mechanism are lubricated through drilledholes 43, the oil being carried under pressure from the crank case 3 by pipe 44 and connected to the several parts at 45. e

For each pair of cylinders in my improvedemgine .a pressure-balancing mechanism is required.

The arrangement of two pressure-balancing mechanisms with relation to each otheris shown in Fig- 4 whichis a vertical view of a four cylinder engine. For rigid construction and convenience in manufacture, the complete housing idea of just what it includes. are plugged at 43' to retain oil pressure. :be noted that the construction of the bearing for the pressure-balancing mechanism shown generally at 2| is cast integrally with the cylinder head plate 84, Fig. 4. The flange is machined to receive a suitable'cover, (not shown). In order to facilitate assembly of the pressure-balancing mechanism, the housing 2! separates at 86 as shown in Fig. 2.

The lever 22 is supported in bearings 46 and 41 as shown in Fig. 4. The spring 34, cylinder 35 and piston 36--shown in the cut-away section of Fig.4 are duplicated on'the opposite sideof lever shaft 48. The three views Fig. 5, Fig. 6, and Fig. 7 of the lever are shown to give a comprehensive Drilled holes 43 It will journals 48 and 48' together with the enlarged portion '49 which holds the rollers 38 in position is .extremely rigid. This is important as the pressure of exploding gases must be held by the lever. e

The operation of my improved engine is as follows: Fig- 1, cylinder II, the combustion chamber 50 of piston 52 is charged with fuel and air which explode, forcing the piston 52 downward in the cylinder. At the same time piston 29, being di rectly-over piston 52 in cylinder H, is'forced'upward. This delivers the full force of explosion to the pressure balancing mechanism previously described and in turn acts on piston 3|. Piston 54 in cylinder] 3 moves simultaneously with piston 52 in cylinder II and so has the scavenging air compressed in the space 60. The piston 3i, therefore, pushes the piston 54 downward by means of the air cushion thus formed. The next explosion occurs degrees of a revolution later in cylinder l0 with'a balance of pressure being made with cylinder l2. Another 180 degrees of the revolving crankshaft brings the explosion cycle to cylinder l3, the pressure of which is balanced with that in cylinder I I. The last explosion in the cycle occurs when piston 53 reaches the top of its stroke in cylinder I2, the pressure being balanced with cylinder 10. Thus we see that each cylinder goes through a pressure balancing cycle and an explosion cycle at 360-degree intervals or two revolutions of the crankshaft for each complete cycle of operation. Each piston is fitted with piston rings 59 to prevent the escape of compressed gas and to keep down excess oil.

Referring to Fig. 2'we have a view of cylinder III with piston 5| at the bottom of its stroke. Here, the induction of air and the expulsion of burned gas takesplace. The blower 66, which is large enough to scavenge two cylinders simultaneously, delivers air into the manifold 65 thence to the cylinder at 6! through the passage 12 of the distributor casting 64. The velocity of the scavenging charge is great enough to strike the cylinder wall on the opposite side and then force its way upward. Thus it will be seen that the burned mixture isdriven out of the cylinder at'openings B2 on either side of the intake port Bl. This part of the cycle will be readily understood by those experienced with the operation of two cycle engines.

A fuel pump is gear (not shown) housed inthe case 61, Fig 2.

shown at 68 and is driven by a 1 The fuel is forced through thepipe 69 and is the combustion chamber of each piston ever'y other revolution of thecrankshaft or every720 shaft I09.

degrees which is comparable to the spark timing of the conventional four cycle engine.

All exhaust passages in the cylinder block are indicated at 62 in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. The casting 64 with its exhaust passage 'II and intake passage I2 is provided to simplify the construction of the intake and exhaust manifolds. fold is shown at 63.

The plate 13 shown in Fig. 2 serves as an exceptionally rigid mounting for the blower and fuel pumps and is secured to the crank case by cap screws I4. An engine support is shown at I5. The front end of crankshaft I5, Fig. 1 has a flange 82 with tapped holes 93, and is adapted to drivethe air pressure blower and fuel pump.

All wristpins I6 and wristpin keepers 'I'i are of conventional design. The connecting rods 55, 56, 51 and 58 have drilled oil passages shown in the cut away rod at 19. The crankshaft I0 also is drilled for oil pressure shown at 79 in Fig. 1. Baffle plates 80 prevent the oil in the oil pan ill from surging excessively. The oil pump being of accepted design is not shown.

Referring to Fig. 8 we have a modified form 0 my invention which is adapted to an engine of the uniflow 2 cycle class. The air cushion cylinder 89 is shown with piston 89 at the bottom of its stroke, having just uncovered the cylinder ports 90. The air cushion 9i holds piston 92 apart from piston 89 and controls the movement of the oscillating mechanism shown generally at Si. Connecting rod 93 transfers the movement from piston 92 to the lever 90, the opposite end of lever 90 being connected to connecting rod 95 and in turn to piston 96 in the explosion cylinder 97, Fig. 9. The exhaust port 98 isuncovered by the outward movement of piston 96 and closed by the inward movement which makes it necessary to provide piston 96 with a sufliciently long skirt.

A fresh charge is taken into cylinder 91 each revolution at intake port 99. Piston. I00 uncovers intake port 99 on its downward stroke and com presses the charge within the crankcase I0 I The crankcase section of the air cushion cylinder 88 also is used to supply the cylinder 97. This is accomplished in a four cylinder engine by means of the manifold I02, Figs. 9 and 10. It will be noted that the manifold openings I03 and I04 are connected together by passage I05 and openings I06 and I01 are connected by passage I08. The

throws of the crankshaft I09, Fig. 9 of my modithreaded opening I I0 is provided for a spark plug;

In cases where a less volatile fuel is desired we mayuse an injection jet instead of a spark plug. Compression ignition could be used or a second opening may be provided for a spark plug which would ignite the fuel sprayed by the injector.

The crankcase of the modified engine is divided, having a section IOI for each'throw of the crank- The crankcase sections of the explosion cylinders have passages III which conduct the crankcase charge to said explosion cylinders through ports 99. .A flange I I2 on the outside of passage I I I is used-to secure the manifold I02. The crankcase sections of the air cushion cylinders also have passages III but they are blocked off, to bypass into either passage I05 or I08 of the manifold I02. Each crankcase section has a cylindrical type of valve II3 to admit the An exhaust manicylinder.

charge at the right time. The manifold I I4 is mounted on the cylinder valve housing H5 and a downdraft carburetor is used at H6.

The air cushion 9I in cylinder 88, Fig. 8 is supplied from a storage tank III. In operation only a small amount of air is used since the only escape is past the piston rings on pistons 89 and 92 or through the pressure regulator in housing H8. The conduit I I9 leads to a valve in the housing I I8 which may exhaust to the atmosphere or to the storage tank III. The purpose of the pressure regulator is to control the function of the air cushion. To increase the air cushion, a comparatively large valve I20 is providedas it is necessary to change the pressure of the air cushion rapidly when the demand on the engine changes rapidly.

' Extension or torsion springs are applied to lever 99 which constantly pull piston 92 against the air cushion 9|. The stroke of the lever 94 may be shortened by increasing the air in the air cushion 9I and also increasing the spring tension on the lever 94. This reduces the dynamic force of the oscillating mechanism and produces a satisfactory control under ordinary conditions. However, in extremely adverse conditions we may find it necessary to further reduce cylinder temperatures by improving the cooling system.

The movement of piston 89 and piston 92 in the cylinder 88 is unequal since they are not mechani cally connected together. This makes it possible to time the crankthrow of the air cushion cylinder so that piston 89 approaches-piston 92 at justthe right point in the cycle to obtain an effective bounce, driving piston 96 inward, compressing and igniting the combustible charge in the explosion The timing of piston 89 in the air cushion cylinder must be such that the oscillator piston 96 approaches piston I00 in the explosion cylinder ,at just the right time to compress and ignite said combustible charge.

Two advantages are gained by making the air cushion cylinder 88 larger than the explosion cylinder 91. First, the crankcase provides more air for scavenging and some supercharging. Second, a larger air cushion improves flexibility of the oscillating mechanism.

A carefully worked out valve system might be applied to the cylinder 88 and the compressor I2I which supplies the storage tank 'I I! would be eliminated, but for the present, I recommend the use of the compressor.

I prefer to start this engine with spark ignition. After the engine has been running a short warming up period the spark may be retarded in the usual way. The air pressure in the air cushion cylinder is then adjusted to bring the explosion timing back to normal by means of the oscillator. This being accomplished there is no further need for spark ignition unless the revolutions of the engine drop to where .the dynamic force of the oscillator fails to compress the combustible charge sufiiciently for ignition.

I am aware that, prior to my invention, im provements in the design of adjustable combustion chambers for internal combustion engines have been made. With this in mind I have shown by drawings and description a device having certain novel virtues not obtainable heretofore and have set down the following claims with reference to said inventionz I claim:

1. In an internal combustion engine having a pair of cylinders and a pressure-balancing mechanismwhich is movably responsive to tl pressure of combustion in each cylinder, means tocause a combustible material to be supplied alternately to the cylinders in said engine, means to supply air to each of said cylinders, means to cause combustion of said combustible material and means to exhaust said cylinders, the aforementioned pressure-balancing mechanism serving to cushion the explosive pressure in one cylinder'with the air compressed in the other cylinder.

2. In a compression ignition engine a pair of cyl nders, means to supply air to said cylinders, means to supply fuel to one of said cylinders and means tending to cushion the explosive pressure of the burning fuel in one cylinder with the air compressed in the other of .said pair of cylinders.

3. In a compression ignition engine having pairs of cylinders, means to supply air for com- 1 pression each revolution and means to supply fuel during the compression of the air of each alternate revolution of each of said cylinders, means to exhaust said cylinders and means tending to cushion the explosive pressure of said fuel with the air compressed in the other cylinder of said pair of cylinders.

4. In a compression-ignition engine having two cyl nders associated by means of a pressurebalancing mechanism and having two pistons in each of said cylinders. arranged to form an air compression chamber and a combustion chamber alternately when said pistons are in a contracted position, a crankshaft and connecting rods, a blower to fill each cylinder with a charge of air and to scavenge the said cylinder of burned gases, a fuel spray nozzle adapted to spray fuel into said combustion chamber, one piston in each of said cylinders being connected to said crankshaft the other piston in each of said cylinders being connected to the previously mentioned pressurebalancing mechanism.

5. In an internal combustion engine the combination of two cylinders associated together by a pressure-balancing mechanism having a piston extending into each of said cylinders and forming a part of the combustion chamber of each of said two cylinders, said pressure-balancing mechanism serving to cushion the explosive shock in one cylinder with air compressed in the other cylinder, a second piston in each of the aforementioned cylinders, a crankshaft, connecting rods connecting each of last two pistons designated and the crankshaft, means to supply combustible material and air to said two cylinders and means to explode and scavenge the material, the explosion cycle and the air compression cycle alternating in each cylinder of said engine;

6. In an internal combustion engine, a crankcase having cylinders associated in pairs mounted thereon, a crankshaft in said crankcase, a piston in each of said cylinders, connecting rods connecting said pistons and said crankshaft, an inlet and an outlet communicating with one of said cylinders, said inlet of one cylinder being connect ed to said crankcase and communicating with the section serving each cylinder, a carburetor, conduit means connecting said carburetor and said crankcase, means to control the passage of fuel mixture through said conduit means, means to 'induce the combustible mixture from said crankcharged with a combustible mixture.

'7. In an internal combustion engine including aplurality of cylinders associated in pairs and mounted on a crankcase, said pairs of cylinders having pistons moving simultaneously therein, said crankcase containing webs to form a cell under each cylinder of said engine, a valve mechanism operable to admit a combustible mixture to the crankcase cells of each pair of cylinders, conduit means connecting said crankcase cells of each pair of cylinders with one cylinder of said pair of cylinders, the other cylinder taking in air through holesuncovered by the piston on its expansion travel in last mentioned cylinder, said pair of pistons compressing air in one cylinder and combustible mixture in the other cylinder, means to ignite the compressed combustible mixture and means tending to balance the pressure of the burning combustible mixture with the pressure of compressed air and means to rotate the crankshaft in said engine by the pressure thus obtained.

8. In an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders, there being'anair compression cylinder associated with each explosion cylinder by means of a pressure cushioning mech 'anism, a crankcase, a crankshaft mounted in said pression cylinder being connected to the crankcase cell of the associated explosion cylinder, means to' spray a combustible material into the explosion cylinder to give the pistons in said cylinder a power impulse, the air compression cylinder having taken in air from a controllable source and forming an air cushion, means tending to cushion the explosive pressure in the explosion .cylinder with the air cushion in said associated air compression cylinder.

' 9. In an internal combustion engine having a pair of cylinders, means to supply air to one cylinder and a combustible mixture to the other, said pair so!" cylinders containing members associated with each other and movably responsive to the pressure in each of said cylinders, means to vary the pressure of air admitted to the air cylinder and thus change the compression pressure in the explosion cylinder.

10. In a hydrocarbon engine a pair of cylinders having two pistons in each cylinder, one piston in each cylinder being connected to the crankshaft by means of connecting rods, the other piston in each cylinder being connected to each other in a manner tending to equalize the pressure occurring in one cylinder with the pr'essure'occurring in the other cylinder, means to supply a combustible mixture to one cylinder and air to the other of said pair of cylinders.

11. In an internal combustion engine, a pair of cylinders having a pressure-balancing mechanism which includes a movable member in each cyl-. inder, means to produce power impulses in one cylinder and to compress air in the other cylinder, means to vary the amount of air compressed in said cylinder thereby varying the compression pressure of the combustible mixture in the other cylinder.

12. In a hydrocarbon engine having a pair of cylinders associated with each other by a pressure-balancing mechanism,- means to supply a combustible mixture to one cylinder and air to the other of said pair of cylinders, said pressurebalancing mechanism having members movably responsive to the pressure occurring in each cylinder, thus reducing the tendency of the fuel to detonate during its explosion cycle.

13. In an internal combustion engine having an explosion cylinder and an air compression cylinder, means tending to balance the pressure obtained in the explosion cylinder with the pressure in the compressed air cylinder, said air compression cylinder providing pressure at the proper time to cause the pressure-balancing means to move, compressing and exploding the charge in said explosion cylinder.

14. In an engine having a combustion chamber and an auxiliary non-combustible fluid chamber, means to compress and explode and exhaust a combustible mixture in said combustion chamber, means to compress the non-combustible iiuid in said auxiliary chamber, means tending to balance the pressure obtained in the combustion chamber with the pressure obtained by the compression of the non-combustible fluid, thus causing the pressure-balancing means to oscillate and explode the combustible mixture.

15- In a hydrocarbon engine having a pair of pistons moving in a pair of cylinders, means to supply and ignite and exhaust an explosive mixture in one cylinder and to supply a variable amount of air to the other cylinder of said pair of cylinders one piston in each cylinder being associated with each other in a manner tending to equalize the pressures obtained in each cylinder, the timing of the cycle of said air compression cylinder being such as will give maximum compression pressure in the combustion cylinder at the time ignition starts.

16. In an engine having an oscillating mechanism moving by means of fluid pressures in a pair of cylinders, said fluid pressures consisting of a combustible charge in one cylinder and a variable air pressure cushion held by spring tension in the other cylinder, the weight, and radius of the movement, of the oscillator together with dynamic energy imparted by the rebound from said air cushion and spring tension being calculated to Y give sumcient momentum to compress the combustible charge to its ignition point, the timing of said ignition point having been determined by the cycle of the afore-mentioned air cushion cylinder.

17. In an internal combustion engine that ineludes an oscillating mechanism moved by fluid pressures and adapted to ignite a combustible mixture by virtue of dynamic energy imparted by said fluid pressures, the weight and radius of the oscillator of said oscillating mechanism being such that it will compress and ignite said combustible mixtures, the control of the dynamic energy of said oscillating mechanism being accomplished with the aid of an air cushion moving with said oscillator.

18. In an internal combustion engine having a combustion cylinder and an air compression cylinder, an oscillating device consisting of a lever with a piston and connecting rod movably attached to each end, one piston extending into the combustion cylinder to form a portion of the combustion chamber, the other piston extending into the air compression cylinder to form a part of an air cushion said oscillating device moving to compress and ignite a combustible charge in the combustion cylinder, the timing of combustion being controllable by the cycle of said air compression cylinder which causes the afore-mentioned oscillating device to rebound after each explosion or combustion.

19. In an internal combustion engine having an oscillating mechanism which by virtue of its dynamic energy causes and controls the combustion of fuel in the combustion chamber of said engine, the oscillator of said oscillating mechanism being adapted to be bounced by fluid pressures, consisting of an explosion at one end of its oscillating movementand an air cushion at the other end of its oscillating movement, the dynamic energy thus imparted to said oscillator causing the combustible mixture to be exploded or ignited by theheat of compression brought about by the bouncing action of said oscillator.

HAROLD STEWART LAMB. 

